“Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my apartment? Oh, no, no, no. I’m not doing anything. Stay away from me!”
She bolts down the hallway before I can respond.
I follow. “Would you stop? I’m not going to hurt you. That’s not what I’m here for.”
But she’s screaming, and suddenly objects come flying from behind a closed door. Water bottle. Notebook. TV remote. I dodge them all.
“Would you quit it?! I’mtryingto help you. Open the damn door.”
Another object whizzes past my head.
“Stay away from me! I know why you’re here!”
I test the door. It wobbles. One hard shove, and it flies open.
Claire’s bedroom. She’s on the floor, staring up at me like I just hit her.
“Get away from me! Please. I don’t want to get hurt. I’ll give you anything. Please go.”
She thinks I’m a thug here to hurt her. This is out of hand.
Hair’s come loose from her bun. Cheeks flushed. Eyes wide and wild.
It’s not that I like her scared—but I like the look of her. Disheveled. Breathless. Like she’d look after I?—
Stop.
I shake my head. Hold out my hand.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Please. Let’s talk.”
She studies me. Suspicious. But after a moment, she takes my hand.
I pull her up—and her knee slams into my balls.
Pain rockets through me. Nausea hits.
Before she can bolt, I grab her wrist and spin her back toward the wall. She lands with a thud. I cage her between my arms.
“Alright, darling. Clever. But enough. We’re going to talk.”
Her expression crumbles. No fight left. Just tears welling, clinging to her lashes, then spilling over.
This close, I can smell her. Vanilla. Clean laundry. And underneath, the sharp edge of fear. Her chest heaves with quick, shallow breaths. A tremor runs through her whole body.
So small compared to me. So fragile.
Someone made her this scared.
Something dark and possessive twists in my gut. Whoever did this—I want to find them. Wrap my hands around their throat. Squeeze until they beg.
The violence of the thought should shock me.
It doesn’t.
“I won’t say anything about him,” she whispers. “Don’t hurt me. I won’t say anything. Please. I’m sorry I brought it up. It’ll be like nothing happened.”
My spine goes rigid.
